Arashi no Ko
by PeKan
Summary: Attempt at mass distribution of peace! "Wait, did we fail? Kurama? You alive?" The storm is here; his conflicting emotions, his new life - who is Uzumaki Naruto now? Arashi no Ko, Child of the Storm!
1. Chapter 1

Humming softly, she scanned over the few titles of the nearly empty shelf of books.

Her eyes were fiercely digesting every word on the aged bindings. This was her territory, her domain. She knew everything in this particular section of the guild.

She was the ruler here.

Yet, even so, there was a single complication in her kingdom. A few of her subjects were _wrong_. They were all assigned a specific section, but there was a discernible cabal – a few neatly stacked books that held no place.

The queen's cheerful melody ended as she frowned at them.

These rebels, defying their queen's presence, disrupted the order. They laid in the farthest corner and the highest rim of the grounds, silently conspiring against her.

A few of them, such as the great tomes of Fairy Tail's archives and the rare books on the ancient world, were welcome in the histories; but they refused the calling, as if saying that their jurisdiction was beyond her.

There were, however, two books of the same title that she suspected of misdeed within the faction. Only judging by the name, the queen could instantly extradite these outsiders – for they lacked the status of the aforementioned – to their legitimate branch, the fictional novels.

She would, too, but she feared them immensely; she feared the repercussion that would follow their severance.

The congregation had associated in this such manner before she was instated as queen and even prior to her admission into the Fairy Tail empire.

The queen sighed softly, her short blue hair flailing as she leaned forward, reaching for the newer, reprinted twin.

"Levy-chan!" The queen yelped at the call, her ladder rebounding against her startled body. "We found a job, are you ready?"

"H-hai!" she cried out, eying the book longingly as she retracted her hand and carefully crawled down the supporting structure.

"Huh, you're still in the library?"

The queen didn't respond as she walked past all of her rigid subjects. She stopped at the exit and turned to glare at the tantalizing twin, engraving the title into her proficient memory as she had done times before:

"_Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi"_

* * *

><p><strong>Arashi no Ko<strong>

_**Chapter I: Existence**_

"_For ages, people have fought to create peace – countless numbers have died for this 'dream'. Today, another life will be added to the infinite list; today, the Nations will be one step closer to peace!"  
><em>_-Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha_

* * *

><p>Distant roars rang in his ears as he clambered to a standing position. The searing pain that surged in his body threatened to induce a wail that collided with the sounds of whatever forest he was in.<p>

Caressing his head in an attempt to ebb the splitting ache, he loosely stumbled forward. His clothes, torn and fraying, were a testament to the events that had _just _happened, but the aftermath was absent.

Grains of dirt and rock fell from his murky blond hair as he examined his surroundings, resulting in a dusty discoloration forming on the shoulders of the remnant of his orange on black sweater.

He let out a low growl as he glanced down to his attire and tore off the whole right arm of the tattered article. He didn't even bother with the left side, seeing as how the black fabric only began existing above his forearm, and offered no service to his tearing sandals and shredded orange pants.

As far as he knew, this place – wherever it was – was not where he had been just minutes prior. He could only hope that he succeeded with his plan.

Suddenly, an influx of memories awakened in his weakened mind. From his expired clone, he realized, once the information was retained.

_"..the Nations will be one step closer to peace!"_

_I guess the great Uzumaki Naruto had to go with a bang._

Naruto just hoped that whatever idiotic dramatics his clone pulled weren't for naught. If he really did fail and _everything _his clone said was just some exaggerated garbage, then, even if he were anywhere close to the Elemental Nations, he would keel over and die of embarrassment.

After Sakura pummeled him to the ground, that is.

She probably would have done it anyway, had she found his dead body.

_Can't blame her, either. I'd want to kick my own ass._

A small smile flitted to his face as he breathed in the soft air of the forest. That was the first hint that something was horribly wrong: the air around him was too wrong. Being a master of Senjutsu, Naruto could feel the changes in the world around.

Everything was saturated with some sort of strange energy. It was like a warm blanket permeating the world.

And, apparently, it was somewhat soothing to his soul.

Or maybe that was the very temporary euphoria from his latest attempt at mass distribution of peace.

While even the best men fell to solitude and pressure, Naruto never thought that he would be one of them. The people didn't believe in him, they expected of him.

From a nuisance, he became a hero; from a hero, he became a leader; and from becoming a leader, he was treated discordantly.

Before, his friends would idly converse with him, share a few disconnected words, or challenge him to a spar.

Now, they only offered him respect, just as everyone else did. Naruto never would have imagined that something like a title and power would just throw him back to the days of his childhood.

Back to his loneliness.

There was little solace to find in Sakura, since she probably needed it just as much as he did. She started working even harder to replace Tsunade in the medical field once she died.

Maybe he was wrong: maybe this place was the same as the Nations.

_Maybe I'm in some dead shinobi haven. Maybe I'll finally get some peace._

He noticed, absently, a large build up of the strange energy further into the forest. Coincidentally, the roars were proportionate to the growing power.

_This isn't ending well._

Out of nowhere, two white-haired girls appeared from the wooded area, followed by a thick tree stump flying at them. There was a second tree stump being swung at them, but that one was connected to the maroon arms of a beast.

A very _large _beast.

The older girl that had what Naruto assumed to be her sister draped across her back was obviously tired. Her steps were shaky and her movements disoriented.

The pain in his body was still burning him from the inside, but Naruto could tell that he had to do something, or the girls would be smashed by the monster.

With a strained grunt, Naruto launched himself at the horned giant.

He sent a powerful kick at the monster's green chest, but all it accomplished was the dropping of the tree that his enemy was swinging.

Naruto jumped back, narrowly avoiding the swipe that was directed at him.

The beast's glowing yellow eyes glared at him and it let loose a giant roar that caused a slight distortion of wind in the area. With no restraint, the monster charged at him, its five talons digging into the ground and its arms raised high.

When the escaping girl chanced to inspect the distance from her brother, she was startled to find that he had set his sights on some blonde kid in rags. "Watch out, idiot!" she screamed desperately, an unfamiliar knot forming in her stomach.

Naruto almost wished he could send the girl a dark glare, but that would probably result in him being a broken heap on the ground. Naruto quickly surveyed his options – judging by the response he got from his kick, he doubted weapons would work, and he was also questioning the identity of the attacking creature.

Ducking a slash that nearly grazed his shoulder, Naruto formed two clones and ran toward the girls.

The beast, unmindful of the duplicates, chased after him.

Naruto swiftly appeared before the sisters, gently sliding one arm around both girls and poising both pairs of legs in his other arm. Before the beast had a chance to grab them, Naruto propelled himself forward, turning his head to eye up his clones.

Instantly, one clone, wind bending about him, flew at the weakest parts of the red and green monster – its legs. The clone disappeared upon contact with the back of the giant's ankle, but managed to cause it to stumble backwards. Its head fell back, and the only thing it saw was the grey sky.

That is, until the second copy appeared in his view. In this duplicate's hand was a blue orb that was aimed at the beast's face.

"**Rasengan**!" the clone shouted as the swirling ball procured contact with the beast's cheek.

An erratic swat managed to hit and destroy the second copy, causing a small cloud of smoke and the destabilization of the existent Rasengan.

The explosion that followed effectively threw the beast to the ground._  
><em>

* * *

><p>"H-hey! Watch the hands, asshole," the white-haired girl choked out, glaring at Naruto as he let her and her sleeping sister down. "Anyone ever teach you manners?"<p>

He snorted in response. "You one to talk?"

A small silence reigned as the girl's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Who are you?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Just a guy offering to help," he stated with a sigh. "What was that thing?"

The sleeping short-haired girl stirred and hazily opened her eyes. She hesitantly spoke, "Mira-nee.. whe-where's Elf-nii?"

Naruto's eyes widened marginally, recalling the beast's white mane of hair. "That thing's your brother?"

"Y-yeah," the girl identified as 'Mira-nee' spoke, "we had some problems and Elfman lost control."

"Mira-nee?" The younger girl was still waiting for an answer.

The sister in question glanced at Naruto, who finally spoke, "I think he's out. I hit him pretty hard."

Of course, at that moment there had to be an enraged roar that rumbled throughout the forest. Cursing slightly, Naruto turned glanced at the girls. "You guys get back, I'll make some kind of plan."

"No way! He's my brother, I'm gonna stop him!" The older girl's eyes were shining with resolve, and she confidently said, "This is my responsibility."

"You should've done it sooner, then, because I _know _that you're running low on energy." Naruto then harshly added, "Plus, with your arm like that, I doubt there's much you can do." True to Naruto words, her limp forearm had an unappealing, large bump that was nothing less than a fracture.

He could see some spite piling up in her eyes, but that was nothing in contrast to the growing sounds of rustling leaves and snapping branches.

Naruto turned to the direction with the sounds and walked forward. His body had been hurting ever since he arrived to this strange forest, and a deeper pain raced through him ever since he made those Kage Bunshin. He didn't even understand _how _one of his clones could form a Rasengan with his current condition.

It really felt as if some sort of caustic chakra was poured through his tenketsu…

_Well, that explains a lot. You alive, Kurama?_

**Would you be alive if you had to roast the chakra of seven tailed beasts?**

_Should I answer with a yes, since you survived?_

**You should answer with a 'no', actually. Maybe even add an 'I am a giant idiot'.**

_That's the second time someone's called me an idiot today. I haven't even been an idiot in Konoha for some time now._

There was no response from the giant fox within his stomach.

_Did it work?_

This time, Naruto's echoing voice was somber. There was no hint of amusement hidden beneath his words, there was only a desperation that the Kyuubi had seen once before – the time that Naruto nearly removed his seal.

**Yeah. As far as I know, the tailed beasts are forever gone from the Elemental Nations.**

_I wonder, where does that put us?_

The reply was once again mute, and for a reason. He could feel the creature approaching, the snarls were almost palpable, and the raw rage was threatening to wrap around his very body.

Naruto had no way to restrain the prodigal brother – his tenketsu were damaged at the least and he couldn't mold chakra at this point. He wasn't sure how well, if at all, Sage Mode would function with this quirky energy.

There only one option.

He hoped that his body would be salvageable after this.

The berserk Elfman finally appeared, dashing at Naruto with his outstretched fist, intending to smash. Its body was larger, its horns sharper, and its muscles firmer.

Naruto sedately observed the thin stream of blood the flowed down the right side of the beast's face as he reached for his power.

* * *

><p>A small smile etched onto the face of the demon fox, whose head was raised as he calmly stared through the exposed cage.<p>

**Let's play.**

* * *

><p>Naruto could hear twin sets of cries emanating from behind him, but he paid them no mind. His eyes met with the creatures and, once the colossal arm obscured his sight, he let free.<p>

Maroon chakra burst forth, fencing the attack and fully enveloping its host.

The beast subtly retreated, as if instinctively fearing this new foe. The cylinder of chakra started to take form, six distinct threads spiraled from behind the black silhouette in the red curtain.

Two elongating red ears were situated atop the head of the burning teen, who had fallen to a quadruped position. The six coils, now fully-formed tails, swayed behind him as a white, bone-like substance began forming on what was Naruto.

A jaw materialized; next, a skull; then, a spine; and finally, erratic boney limbs that stuck to the radiating red monster, oddly reminiscent of a fox.

Low growls were emitted from the six-tailed fox as it slowly advanced toward the still-larger beast, who had been receding at an equal pace.

"**Scared, Elfman?**"

It was somewhat cognitive, if the parallel fists attempting to assault the fox indicated anything.

Naruto, disinterested in prolonging the fight, shot a tail out, wrapping it around either arm and quickly replicated that for each leg while the remaining two tails bound the horns of the flailing head.

The fox reclined as far back as it could and began creating an uncompressed black sphere from its mouth, visible perforations appearing on the dark ball as much of its power spilled out.

_**Just enough to make him sleep.**_

In an instant, the fox brought its head and the sphere into the beast's chest, generating an outward blast that sent both combatants flying into their own respective trees.

The bipedal beast was unresponsive, but his inhumane qualities slowly began receding until an unconscious human frame was revealed.

The fox, removing itself from its tree, rose to two legs once the maroon energy started dissipating. Ragged breaths escaped from the reverted blond while he tried to walk forward, succeeding only in collapsing face-first into the ground.

The two sisters viewed the concluded display in awe, inspecting every splintered branch and all of the displaced gravel.

* * *

><p>Lethargically opening his eyes, Naruto noticed two things. First, he was wrapped in a thin sheet with a small, soft pillow beneath his head. He assumed he was lying on his back, if the grey sky and towering trees that came into vision were any clue.<p>

Secondly, and possibly more importantly, his body felt like it was sent through a shredder, multiple times. Naruto wasn't sure if this was a result of using the Kyuubi's chakra or the just the aftermath of _that_.

He craned his neck and looked to his right, noticing the young girl and who he assumed was Elfman asleep a slight distance away; both of them were covered in a manner similar to his and both of them appeared equally spent.

Then he looked to his left, spotting the elder sister perpendicularly situated to him with her back against a fallen tree that ran parallel beside him. Her head was leaning back against the stump, and her knees were tightly tucked in. At a glance, she seemed to be close to his age and wearing clothes that Ino probably had stored in her closet.

Naruto continued watching her – his eyes sifted over her sullied pale skin; her black thigh-high boots; her short, purple miniskirt; her provocatively small top of a darker shade of purple, sustained only by a crossing strap that went around her neck; her long, flowing white hair, most of which was braced by a ruffled maroon ribbon; and her soft face, overlaid by two thin asymmetrical streaks of dried tears.

It was somewhat hard to believe that this seemingly angelic girl had called him an asshole.

Naruto finally focused in on her wistful blue eyes. They reminded him of the eyes he kept seeing in his mirror when Jiraiya was killed by Pein, when Jiraiya was killed _because_ _of_ _him_. Naruto was so caught up in his memories that he never even noticed that the world around him started fading away.

"You plannin' to say something or are you gonna keep ogling me?"

Snapping out of it, Naruto rolled his eyes and dropped his head back to the pillow, angling himself in such a way that he could still see her. "Are you letting me choose? Because you're actually kinda pretty when you don't talk."

She finally stopped watching the sky and leveled Naruto with a dark glare. His blank stare was meeting her angry one until he could recognize the melancholic look returning to her face.

Naruto, deciding that he didn't want to recall more of the pain of losing Jiraiya, settled for as close to a amiable conversation as could be achieved. "I never did catch your name, you know."

She narrowed her eyes subtly and softly chewed the inside of her lip. "Mirajane Strauss. My siblings," she deftly nodded toward them, "are Elfman and Lisanna." She added an expectant gaze when she finished.

Naruto offered a friendly smile, "Uzumaki Naruto, no siblings."

Mirajane's lips quirked upward from the introduction. "You're from a backwater village, aren't you?"

Had he not been lying on his back, Naruto's mouth would have hung open. He was preparing a vehement refute, but she spoke again, "Like, you talk differently: the way you enunciate some of your words isn't common, and you also introduce yourself backwards. Not to mention, _we_ took this mission, and people don't just wander around here for no reason, so you're either from one of the scattered communities," at this, her eyes sharpened, "_or_ you have something to do with the Beast's appearance."

Naruto was at a complete loss in every sense of the word – on one hand, she was accusing him of _something_ and on the other, he felt that she had somehow called him weird. He wanted to respond, but his heart started racing when she didn't comment on his introduction. He already had some sort of obscure assumption with the strange energy, but her lack of recognition upon hearing his name (not that he was being cocky about it!) all but confirmed it: he wasn't anywhere close the Elemental Nations anymore.

"I am from a village… but it's not backwater!" he exclaimed impetuously. "And you said that thing was your brother!"

Naruto groaned in exasperation. "So that's why they're," he nodded at the two sleeping figures, "away from me. So I guess you're sitting beside me as a guard, huh?"

Mirajane didn't give him a response, but some of her suspicion remained. Seeing this, Naruto, still wrapped in the sheet, leisurely sat up despite his body's protesting. He twisted his body, and squirmed to the open space next to her. His back aligned with the tree and slumped back, roughly hitting the log as a pained grunt left his lips.

"Look," he gazed into her narrowed eyes as she turned toward him, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just randomly found myself on the ground; I don't even know where I am!"

She let out a soft sigh, intuitively accepting his allegation. "East of Clover Town." She acknowledged his confused stare and clarified, "That's where we are. In the forests east of Clover Town."

Well, he had no clue what Clover Town was, but by the way Mirajane said it, it possessed some sort of importance.

"So, can you tell me what happened, exactly?" Naruto asked unsurely, catching the frown that marred her face.

She leaned forward, digging her face into her knees. She loosely wrapped _both _arms around her legs, but Naruto marked that the damaged one was on the top, the swelling gone but still frail and bruised.

"I took an S-class mission at my guild, but I didn't want to bring anyone else with us," her voice came out muffled while Naruto began noting the foreign words. "The mission was to stop some beast that had been killing some of the wildlife and scaring the people around, and I thought that we could handle it. I didn't know that it was _the _Beast until we finally met it… We couldn't get away and… it was too strong for us to handle, so we had to try to fight it," Mirajane's voiced cracked as let out a soft sob, "Elfman said that he'd tame it, but his Take Over failed. He lost control and nearly killed Lisanna. We barely got away from him."

Mirajane raised her head, two renewed streams of tears breaking free, and looked at Naruto's whiskered face. "Then you showed up and stopped him with your magic."

Inadvertently, Naruto echoed, "Magic?"

Confusion spread over her face. "You're not a mage?" she asked, smudging some of blemishing dirt as she dried her eyes and cheeks.

Again, his curiosity slipped free, "Mage?"

Mirajane stared at him in disbelief. "You seriously _don't_ know?" At his affirmative nod, she muttered, "I guess you _aren't _from a backwater village; you were obviously under a rock your whole life."

Well, maybe if the Hokage Mountain counted as a rock, then yes, he was.

Despite his vexed look, she continued speaking, "Magic is the connection of the spiritual flow of nature to the physical embodiment of a human's spirit; there are many different forms of magic, but some people are attuned to specific ones." She paused momentarily to smile at his perplexity. "Mages are people who are able to use magic, but only about ten percent of the population can successfully use it."

Naruto groaned in frustration at the textbook definition of 'magic' – a connection between nature and a physical spirit? What did that even mean?

Mirajane said no more once she noticed his speculate expression.

Something like Sage Mode was a connection to nature; the Bijuu could be considered physical spirits. Could something like those be combined?

_Wait, no, Bijuu weren't spirits. They were living forms without definite bodies._

**Thanks for noticing.**

_Shut up! You guys are close enough to spirits that it's hard to make a distinction!_

_The connection to the "spiritual flow of nature" makes more sense to me; from my studies with Senjutsu, I know that nature isn't only physical, because, in a sense, I absorb the spiritual portion of it – natural energy._

_But it isn't the same as Sage Mo– that's it!_

Despite being engrossed in his thoughts, Naruto could hear his heart pounding in his ears. This Magic was so intriguing because it was possibly in no way related to chakra; this was much, much different than what he had expected.

_A part of Senjutsu training involves the sensing of natural energy, in other words, a connection to nature._

_The "physical embodiment" of the spirit seems to be impossible; it can't be chakra because that stems from the physical and spiritual energies of the body._

Shaking out of his stupor, Naruto leaned his head back, harshly hitting it against the tree. Ignorant of the negligible pain, he was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't fathom how Magic was used.

He suddenly realized that he'd been conversing with the girl before he lapsed into his musings. Naruto timidly gazed back at her, catching the sparks of amusement dancing in her intense blue eyes. He hadn't even noticed when she turned to fully face him.

Mirajane's arm was now loosely draped atop one rigid leg, and her mouth was hidden in the groove of her elbow. Her other leg was flat on the ground, her feet crossing over and barely touching; and her impaired arm was adeptly anchoring her short skirt so that nothing was exposed.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious with her staring at him so intently. "Err, sorry, did you say something?" he asked nervously, unsuccessfully trying to free his hand from the confines of his covering to rub his neck.

A thought that brought a gentle smile danced in his mind, whispering, "_You totally just pulled a Kakashi."_

"Nope."

Naruto shifted, unsure of what to say. There had been a lingering question in his mind and this moment was obviously the best to ask it lest there be awkward silence. "So what happens when you guys, you mages, run out of this Magic?"

"Magic _Power_," Mirajane keenly corrected. "And nothing, it just takes some time to recover. The Ethernano in the air refills a mage's body and he's as good as new."

At Naruto's blank countenance, she spontaneously figured the problem area. "Ethernano is the source of Magic Power."

"So, there's no danger to one's body," he murmured in insight. "Is there," his eyes gleamed fervently, "any physical exhaustion?"

She raised a brow at Naruto's peculiar inquiry. "Generally, no. Although, some forms of Magic do cause the body to tire, depending on what they involve, but it's almost never _dangerous_."

Magic suddenly became lucid to him; it all started to fall into place.

_I was wrong, on two accounts. Mages do use chakra, but only the spiritual portion. Mages don't die as shinobi do when they run out because the physical energy is still there – their lives are not depleted._

_I could even go so far as to say that the foundation of Magic lies in Senjutsu and Inton. If this be the case, then there is a chance that..._

...the Elemental Nations still exist in some form.

* * *

><p><em>Glossary:<em>

_Senjutsu - Sage Techniques  
><em>_Inton - Yin Release_

* * *

><p><em>Beta-read by Lanky Nathan<em>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I found out the interesting differences between 'blond' and 'blonde' while writing this. I suggest you check 'em out, google "grammar girl blond or blonde".

By the way, that was one of the first _real_ fight scenes I've ever written.  
>And lemme tell ya, it was a giant pain in the ass.<p>

The pairing is Naruto x Mirajane. I will absolutely clobber you if you ask me for a harem (not really, but this is to express my dislike).

Tell me how you liked them theories, yo. I actually sat down to think about it. I thought. Hard. Probably a bigger pain in the ass than the fight scene.

And remember, tell me if there are any flaws in my writing style, any comments on it will be greatly appreciated!

I made a few minor edits to this chapter that bugged me/were out of place.


	2. Chapter 2

**X776**

"Faust-sama, we've discovered something within the Primordial Lacrima."

The aged king looked at the short man with interest. "It is quite rare for you to personally speak to me on these matters, Byro. So, tell me, what have you found?"

"A boy late in his adolescence, my king. Comatose inside the very core."

The man's features contorted in surprise. "You mean to say," the king paused, "that he is _alive_?"

* * *

><p><strong>X780<br>**

"I have decided to bestow upon my Royal Army Captains an instrumental cohort." The tall man's eyes were hard and his long beard hid some of his obvious dissatisfaction. "It has come to my attention, you see, that _some_ of my esteemed subordinates," his glare spread over the three beings before him, "have been unsuccessful in carrying out their duties."

"One of them has even been killed." None of the captains spoke, fearing the possible wrath of the king. "For that, I shall introduce to you my most capable subject." Instantly, a blonde man garbed in black appeared beside the king, assessing the large exceed and the two eccentric humans. "Meet the Royal Army Assassin, Namikaze Na–"

"_Yami,_" the assassin harshly growled, disregarding the angry glare that his ruler sent him, "Namikaze Yami."

Faust subdued the snarl that was at his lips, "Yes, _Yami_, meet your comrades: Sugarboy, Hughes, and Pantherlily."

The whiskered assassin's eyes narrowed as he looked for the missing captain. "Where's the other one?"

"The captain of the second division was killed in battle against a dark guild," the large exceed, Pantherlily, declared.

Shaking his head, the blond scoffed and insolently left the king's presence, not even asking for a dismissal.

"The _Assassin_," one of the captains whispered, "amazing."

* * *

><p><strong>Arashi no Ko<strong>

**_Chapter II: Beyond_**

"_Death has never been an obstacle to me, nor has it ever frightened me – the ones who've heard my name and my heart know this.  
><em>

_"What I fear is that which awaits afterwards._

_"Will I open my eyes once more, only to find that my heart still beats and that my limbs still bend? Or will my soul wither away, watching the tragedies I was unable to prevent?"  
><em>_-Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha_

* * *

><p><em>I could even go so far as to say that the foundation of Magic lies in Senjutsu and Inton. If this be the case, then there is a chance that...<em>

...the Elemental Nations still exist in some form.

* * *

><p>Naruto wanted to flash a triumphant smile, but there was one major piece in this puzzle of <em>Magic<em>. Something like it was considered an abnormality back home. "Where does Eternano come from?"

"_Come from_?" Mirajane mirrored in confusion. "Eternano doesn't _come_ _from_ anywhere," her eyebrows scrunched, "it just _is_. It's been around for a long time – I mean, there's all kinds of half-assed theories and ideas, but…"

"But?" he inquisitively probed, eying her perturbed look.

She pursed her lips, "But _my_ favorite is the myth about some sage that created Eternano when he tried to spread peace throughout the world." Naruto's eyes widened at this; the tale was told differently when shinobi reigned, but it was surely speaking of that same man.

A small grin formed on his face as he remembered what knowledge he had of the Rikudou Sennin's legendary deeds. It didn't satisfy his curiosity about Eternano's origin, but it connected him to home. With shining eyes, Naruto turned to the girl and uttered, "I think that's a good one."

Mirajane instantly looked away as a pink tinge washed over her cheeks. Her eyes trailed back to his cheerful face soon after, and she cracked her own smile at his caprice.

They sat in peaceful silence until Naruto finally concluded that there was only one question left. It was the one that meant everything and the one that could possibly explain everything.

He paused, just for a moment, as he contemplated the possible fallout. "What year is it?"

The girl's face betrayed nothing at first, but then the words _processed_. As her head tilted forward and eyes adopted a blank look, she gaped at him. "Look, the confused, lost boy thing was cute and all but have you lost your fucking marbles?"

Naruto's mouth fell open, but no words came out; he anticipated half of her words. The first portion, however, was possibly an unexpected retaliation to his original jibe when they started conversing, so he opted to get her back for that straight off, using a response he deemed suitable. "Well, I've been hearing voices in my head since I was like twelve. Is that what you mean?" He tried to say it with a straight face, but that was impossible. Naruto barely restrained his laughter by the end.

Rubbing her temple with her uninjured arm, Mirajane successfully hid the amusement present on her face. She had heard enough from him to know that he was either mentally unstable or very, _very_ far from home, wherever that was; and judging by what had transpired a few hours ago until now, the former was quite unlikely. _"'Sides," _she thought, _"it would be a shame for him to be crazy."_

She would humor him – she resolved to answer his questions, whimsical or otherwise. Then she'd get him back.

"X782."

The change in the mood was plainly obvious, and Naruto's sharp intake of air confirmed it. His hands dejectedly escaped from his thin wrapping and enclosed his face as he slumped back against the tree. Mirajane couldn't make out his muffled mutters, except for the concluding sliver:

"…_dred years."_

Minutes passed, but Naruto was expressionless; he remained silent and unmoving. The perplexed mage continued staring at him, reluctant to say anything.

His hands suddenly dropped to his sides with a thump, and his vapid blue eyes were unfocused.

_What happened to them…__ what happened to Konoha?_

Letting out a disconcerted breath, Mirajane rose to her legs after unsuccessfully trying to jerk Naruto out his trance. Although she elected to check and to rouse her siblings, she was dubious of the possibility of them rising.

As she left, she wondered what connection the date had to _dread_ years.

* * *

><p>Stroking Lisanna's scuffed face, the elder mage recounted this disastrous mission. Nearly losing all of her remaining family because of – was it really? – pride? Because she was S-class and this mission was supposedly within her capabilities? Had it not been for Naruto, would she or Lisanna been able to walk away?<p>

"How long have they been sleeping?" The voice Mirajane heard was dreary, and, much to her surprise, came from the very teen that stopped her rampaging brother. Naruto's sheet was draped around his shoulders, held together at the neck by his left hand. Barely visible beneath it was a strange breastplate that he wore under his tattered sweater.

Mirajane was torpid with her reply, substituting words with concerned eyes that looked over his person. "It's been about four hours since Elfman stopped." She intentionally didn't allude to Naruto's actions because she wanted to ask some questions about _that_. "I didn't really expect them to wake up." She hesitated briefly and asked, "A-are you okay?"

He nodded vacantly. "Yeah, I feel fine. Not as sore," he surveyed the two sleeping figures, "Have anywhere to take them?"

She sighed, accepting his inadequate response. "Well, we've got an inn back in Clover Town. Can't really get them there."

Naruto inspected the unconscious male's bulky form. "You able to take her?" he asked, signaling at the sleeping Lisanna.

Understanding the blonds' notion, Mirajane nodded and gingerly began to stuff her supplies into a small pack. Leaning over slightly, Naruto, curiously analyzing her injured arm, the bruises of which were already beginning to fade, dropped his tightly folded sheet into her hands. She peeked at the strange black design on his left deltoid, and her eyes looked over his unusual armor. It was slim and appeared to be considerably reinforced; the fastened sides of the rigid material connected the front and back plates, and there was a single wide strap going over his left shoulder. As a result, the uppermost right side of Naruto's torso, from the top half of his major pectoral to the equivalent point on his back, was unprotected. The two things that stood out most to the girl, however, were the faded orange color and the sector of an unconcealed, jagged pinkish circle peering from the right side of his chest.

Combined with his whiskered cheeks, frazzled short-pants, and dulled blue eyes, the mage thought that he looked like an intrepid warrior.

Once she closed her bag, Mirajane noticed a hand at her side. Smiling gratefully, she took it and let herself be pulled up.

Naruto leaned beside Lisanna, delicately picked her up, and slid her onto the elder sister's back. He then adopted a thoughtful look, wondering _how_ to deal with the massive brother.

**Don't even think about it. Your body has not finished healing and adjusting.**

_Adjusting..?__  
><em>_  
><em>He never got a response, but his idea of lugging the male with shadow clones was washed away. If Kurama said not to do it, then he, quite frankly, shouldn't; maybe the pain being replaced by an inoffensive numbness was the fox's form of an analgesic for his tenketsu.

Sighing, Naruto took Elfman's two arms and pulled them over either side of his neck. Tilting forward to gather more of the giant's mass over him, Naruto finally managed to raise him. "Big guy," he muttered under his breath darkly, "aren't you?"

The blond cursed once he noticed that the supply-filled pack was still on the ground. His arm sank forward to try to capture the strap in a fruitless attempt.

Shaking her head in amusement, Mirajane slipped her foot into the band and raised the bag up to his arm. He let out a small grin and lifted his head to thank her, but… He did note earlier that a particular clothing item the girl wore was very short. Before, however, she was – knowingly? – concealing herself.

Naruto's tanned face quickly burst into a bright red as he stared directly up her skirt. His eyes finally met her savagely luring ones, and he briefly wondered if he'd been had. His time ran out when he caught himself staring _there _again, but it was too late – his legs were already going limp and his balance was all but gone.

His body fell forward and hit the ground with a thud, consequently crushed by the giant on his back. He let out a groan of frustration and cursed once more.

"_Fuck me!_"

"Hey," Mirajane adopted a sharp tone, "that's my brother on you. Don't get any ideas."

Unmindful of her words, Naruto whimpered as he started picking himself and his passenger up, "He's so heavy."

The teasing mage ignored it and continued, "But if you rethink your preferences, _I _might consider it."

The bodies hit the ground again. _Those _words reached the unresponsive Naruto.

She got him.

In her laughter, Mirajane didn't notice how the weight of her fears and mistakes slipped away from her, nor did she notice how even Naruto's melancholy started subsiding.

* * *

><p>She was stupidly grinning at him, indulging in his flustered face. They had <em>finally <em>set off in the general direction of Clover Town; that is, once Naruto managed to get back on his feet.

"You remind me of myself," he stated in annoyance while trying to keep an emotionless face, "when I was a _kid._"

Mirajane laughed more and her grin widened. She saw the irrepressible smile on his face and felt a jolt of satisfaction at his revived cheerfulness. "That was hilarious. Don't get your panties in a bunch," she paused and playfully asked, "or were they mine?"

She was disappointed that it barely evoked a superficial stagger.

"How far away are we, anyway?"

"Like two or three hours at this rate. We should get back before it gets dark." Mirajane briefly wondered if now was the time to ask _her _questions.

They walked for a few minutes at their relaxed pace, each of them falling into their thoughts. Naruto was still curious about the circumstances of his arrival – there was one knowledgeable being in his head that he could ask, though.

_Why do you still exist?_

**Work on wording your questions correctly before talking, idiot. I exist because you exist; we are bound.**

_You and I – we were supposed to be burned up. Your chakra was a counterbalance, so how are you still existing?_

**You said it yourself. You even know the answer. It has been over nine hundred years. I have reformed.**

_Reformed from _what_! I just don't unders–_**  
><strong>

**There is no information I can relay on this matter. The only concrete statement I am able to provide with near certainty is that you have awakened because I am finally whole, and I was able to become whole because we were still bound.**

_Then why am _I _alive? I should have died, at the least!_

**I don't possess the details to that point in my recollection.**

Naruto inwardly sighed. His own memory from that point was faded, so it was to be expected that Kurama would have no knowledge of it.

"Hey, I got some questions I want to ask you." Mirajane's voice suddenly filled his ears. "That okay?"

He gave a curt nod, looking over to her with his full attention.

She promptly shifted Lisanna in an attempt to curb her anxiousness. She let out a silent breathe and spoke, "Who _are _you?"

Naruto hummed in thought. What she wanted to know wasn't his name; no, she wanted to know was the pieces that he was composed of. The answer he could give her depended on the question of what he could say. Naruto knew he made her suspicious with _some _(one in particular) questions. Although he was always taught to reveal little about himself when facing an unknown, Naruto could feel – and this was one of his greatest abilities, they said – that she was trustworthy. Either way, if he was correct, then the ideals and teachings of shinobi were long past.

"A shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato," his voice was firm yet not strict, "the Rokudaime Hokage, to be specific."

"Sh-shinobi? But you don't fit the description of one at all!" she intensely protested, not recognizing the title he mentioned. "Shinobi are agents or mercenaries trained within cliques to be spies or covert assassins, they don't transform into skeletal foxes!" As an afterthought she added, "You don't even wear black or cover your face!" Nevertheless, she did gaze at his breastplate with a newer understanding.

Naruto rolled his eyes and frowned at the definition. "I'm trained in both of those and more," at this, her eyes widened, "Those guys you're thinking of, we call them ANBU. Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. Pretty ironic that they're the ones that people know of, not the average shinobi."

He offered a consoling smile. "I'd guess you'd call what I refer to as an average shinobi a mage. Based on the way I interpreted Magic, there are some serious differences in the way we use our abilities. That said, I'm not really sure what you guys are capable of doing. I'm basing this off of the nature of our power sources." Then Naruto spoke again, this time almost accusingly, "I have to admit, I _am _surprised that mages also seal monsters within people."

Mirajane was bewildered at his last statement. "What do you mean by sealing monsters?" she asked with a furrowed brow. "Are you talking about Elfman's Take Over?"

"Yeah, I think that's what you called it," he nodded, "but I don't understand, that beast _isn't _sealed in him?"

She shook her head, "His Take Over allows him to control the body of a monster or replicate the body parts he's touched." A look of horror passed over her face, "Are you saying that you shinobi put monsters inside of people?"

Naruto looked away and spoke, "Some do, there were only nine, though. There were some byproducts of the originals." He realized he made an error – not in telling her this – but in the way he referred to the Bijuu. "Let me amend what I said, they _aren't_ monsters. Most people just consider them to be."

Gears turned in her head as she recalled the meager malevolence that emanated from the s_hinobi_'s transformation. "Wait, you – you have one of those _things _in you?"

Blue eyes blazing, he turned back to look at the mage. "He is one of my precious teammates."

"Believe me when I say I can understand how you feel about that," she murmured, "but why would someone do such a thing?"

His eyes softened and he understood: her disapproval lay within the concept of the action. "For control, for insurance," his eyes became unfocused, "and for balance." His answer ended there and Mirajane didn't want to pry any further on the matter. She considered herself lucky that he was actually willing to share that much.

"That mark on the metal plate." She curiously asked, "What is it?"

Jabbing his thumb toward his headband with a questioning look, Naruto spoke once he saw her nod, "The symbol of my village."

Mirajane let out a speculative hum at his answer and wondered about the mark on his left deltoid. It had an intriguing design and was partially (the other part being his change into the fox) responsible for the incorrect assumption that Naruto was a mage. "I thought that mark on your shoulder was a guild stamp," she acknowledged his oblivious demeanor and interrupted herself, "A guild is a place that mages join. They offer us jobs, training, and occasionally protection." Returning to where she left off, Mirajane finished her original thought, "But since you aren't a mage, does it have any meaning?"

The shinobi glanced over his shoulder and stared at the seal. The inside portion resembled the usual ANBU tattoo, but the upper 'fireball' was larger and had more swirling inside. The outer portion was only on the right and left side, similar to the border of the Shishou Fuuin, except rotated; it was just a broken circle of small characters with four little expanding sections of the characters becoming prongs on both sides. "I designed it from a few things that have sentimental value, but it's actually a storage seal."

"How do these storage seals work, exactly?"

"Um, well, it's usually a dimension that's co-created by the intricacy of the seals and the amount of chakra used in making them," he replied uncertainly. These particular things involved much theory and were most easily explained as alternative planes.

"Sounds like Requip," Mirajane commented in comprehension, "but what's chakra?"

"It's fundamentally the same thing as a mage's Magic Power, and I have some theories about their correlation, but I've been called more of a kinesthetic learner, so it's all just guesswork." he stated with a grin._ "Not so much guesswork," _Naruto told himself dolefully, _"it just seems that these mages are much more peaceful than shinobi were – I don't want to change that."_

There was one more prickling question in the mage's mind. "_How_ did you get," she provided a small gesture with the flail of her hands, "here?" It was at that moment something about the_ dread _years resonated with her.

Naruto smiled sheepishly and spoke with honest conviction, "No idea, but this doesn't look like home."

Knowing something was off, Mirajane chewed her lip and looked at the shinobi with calculating eyes. "There's not going to be some kind of mass disaster in the coming years, right?"

Vacuously staring at her, Naruto kept walking forward with an even pace, ignorant of his twitching hand wanting to smack his forehead. "As far I know, no, there aren't going to be any of those," he raised his eyebrow quizzically. "I'm not from the future, by the way."

That was the end of their peculiar conversation, until Naruto recalled an important detail he noted when looking over the design on his shoulder.

"What happened to my jacket?"

"What's left of it, you mean. It's in the bag."

* * *

><p>The tips of mountains starting overlooking the trees of the waning forest, and the sounds of the chirping birds and buzzing insects also started to diminish as the conscious two moved as a collective group of four. The sky was still a bleak gray, but the brightness had started fading; the night would soon come.<p>

They had found a road that went to Clover Town, mainly created for those who lived further out. Now and then, an old fence would appear that bordered small farms and their cottages. Quiet neighing would sporadically bleed through the greenery, but the riders and carriages were unseen.

The mage and shinobi conversed as they advanced to their destinations, each sharing some of the various abilities that their respective professions offered; they had inaudibly agreed to not discuss their individual skills. Then she spoke her knowledge of various guilds and how they function, and he told her of the villages back in his Nations.

It was enough to familiarize the other without directly saying anything more. It was _just _an informative discussion between two parties.

The houses of the denizens that lived outside of the town were now natural sights. They were simply built, but held a type of order in the form that expressed a lawful awareness. The grass was neatly cut and some even cultivated small gardens. Around some houses or by their doors, there were tiny orb-shaped bulbs that she explained and named Lacrima torches; they were used in place of electrical systems in underdeveloped communities, but they were more costly to run.

By the time they reached the inner city, the sky was dark and very few lights littered through the less-dense greenery. Clover Town was already asleep – it wasn't too late, but the residents were probably early risers.

The tall buildings, now spaced closely, were made of stone and brick with wooden doors and windows. The one they were walking toward had a dark sign that indicated it as an inn. It was more recently built than the majority of the architecture, but it was still in the same form.

They entered through the double doors and saw a mostly-empty room lit only by two lamps on either side, and there was no clerk standing guard behind the large desk in between two large hallways. Mirajane went down the right corridor and stopped at the final room and pulled a small key out of her bag.

Inside, the room opened to a small lounge that lead to a bedroom and branched off to a bare kitchen and bathroom on the right. Walking to the bedroom, Naruto found that there were two medium-sized beds. Mirajane already set her sister on one, so Naruto crouched near the edge of the second one and cautiously dropped Elfman's broad frame backwards. He wasn't surprised to see that the large mage's whole body didn't fully fit on the mattress, his feet loosely dangled from the edge.

Sighing, the blond found Mirajane staring at him. He slowly crept out of the room, glancing back to see the mage following him.

He continued down the hall and quietly opened the door to leave the room. Turning around, Naruto found the girl watching him expectantly. He shifted uneasily. "It was nice," he faintly cleared his throat, "meeting you guys, but I'll be heading out." His eyes trailed down to the pack in her hands and he designated it with a small nod. Even if it was torn, he wanted his sweater.

Rolling her eyes, Mirajane moved the object behind her back and linked her hands. She gave him an annoyed look that he recognized. It was the same look Sakura gave him when he said or did something stupid.

"So, you're leaving, just like that?" she asked tastelessly. "Us Fairy Tail mages don't like having debts and we owe you, dumbass. Besides," she added, "you've got no place to go, right?"

The shinobi managed an abashed grin as his hand went to scratch his neck. "I don't have many options either way," he shrugged, "and the owner's asleep, even if I had money with me." Well, he had _some_, but he doubted it was used around here or, for that matter, in this age.

The mage's head swayed while she surreptitiously clamped her mouth to prevent her mischievous smirk from emerging.

"Stay with me tonight."

Blushing madly, Naruto sputtered, "Wha-what! I-I.. no!"

Mirajane looked aghast at his words, frowning as she said, "So, you're really not into girls?"

"Of course I'm into girls!" he cried out, flailing his arms.

She timely caught one of his hands between hers and brought it close to her chest. "Then there's no problem," her blue eyes shined brightly despite the lack of light, and her bottom lip was slightly puffed out, "I really just want to thank you for helping us. You won't take that away from me… will you?"

Naruto's ears burned and his face was _hot_, and his brain was starting to fail. He was a Hokage, a shinobi – he was untrained in these situations, he didn't take the courses based around seduction in the academy either. He felt trapped, and he couldn't resist while she dragged him by the hand to the room beside the one where they just laid her siblings.

However, he still had some cognition. "People have told me that I'm really, really loud in bed, and you need rest so I don't want to distur–"

She quickly whipped around after inserting the key into the lock and placed her finger on his lips placating, interrupting him. "It's okay," she whispered and turned back to the door, unlocking it.

"After all," she pulled him through a matching room, "I might be a screamer."

Mirajane opened the bedroom door and he saw the… two beds? His jaw dropped a little as he spotted her gleefully smirking face. Her hands reached into her bag and pulled out a neatly folded, haggard black and orange article. Tossing it at his immobilized head, she said, "There were no free single rooms, but if you've actually reconsidered, I don't mind sharing a bed."

He let out a stifled laugh as his body slumped to the bed she didn't take.

His jacket dropped to the ground, unnoticed.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, the mage had gone into the bathroom. When she came out, Naruto was surprised to find that she wore more clothing to bed than she did in public: a noticeably less revealing mauve top and normal-sized navy shorts.<p>

He went to wash off all of the accumulated dirt as soon as she was out. The shinobi ran his thumb down the seal on his left side and, in a puff of smoke, his sleeping garb appeared in his fingers. With the same motion, he locked away the armor that had been around his torso and the plated headband that had rested on his forehead.

Sliding into the small shower, Naruto turned the water on and gladly immersed himself.

* * *

><p>Naruto walked into the chamber with a content sigh. He was in his sleeveless gray kimono shirt, firmly tied shut by a black sash around his waist. He didn't have anything suitable for the lower section of his body, so he had no choice but to accept only sleeping in his loose orange boxers.<p>

Mirajane was lying in her bed with her face against the pillow. Naruto turned off the lights when he figured she was asleep and collapse backwards onto the mattress.

With his hands behind his head, he stared up at the dark ceiling and shut his hazy eyes, finally conforming to the wishes of his tired body.

* * *

><p>The shinobi's ears were suddenly offended by the clamor of a frantically opened door. His superhuman reflexes swiftly reacted, forcing himself to turn toward the wall and impelling his hands to mute the inimical sounds with his pillow.<p>

"Mira-nee!" the feminine voice cried in fright before her vision stretched over to her groggy sister. "Mira-nee," she gasped and _then _noticed the male curled beside the wall on the opposite bed.

Lisanna's face went red when she saw how inadequately dressed the other form was. His belt had come undone during the night and his vestment was sloppily covering him; he looked suspiciously frazzled. The beds at this inn didn't comfortably fit two people and with her dear sister fully hidden under the covers, possibly wearing nothing, the younger girl was speechless.

Mira-nee never did these things.

The intruder retreated promptly, quietly shutting the bedroom door behind her.

It was far too late for that, however. The resting individuals were already extracted from their sleep. Mirajane was already rolling out of her bed, but Naruto didn't budge. She spared the shinobi a glance before disappearing from the room.

* * *

><p>Once Mirajane came back, dressed for the outside world – that is, wearing her very provocative outfit – she found the blond standing, sporting <em>new <em>orange pants and holding his breastplate in his hand. His front was facing her, and she was finally able to discern the full scar over the right side of his rib cage, the same one she had spotted the previous day. There were many other small marks, especially in the form of lacerations, but all of them looked to be no more than blemishes. There were no evident bulges from most of the scars, including the large round one; they were more comparable to discolorations.

Naruto caught where her eyes were looking and displayed a small smile. "Parting gift from a friend," he stated. The shinobi turned around and slung the armor over his shoulder, nimbly locking the sides. He picked up his kimono shirt and belt and, running the thumb of his right hand over his storage seal, locked it in his other dimension.

When the shinobi spun away from her, Mirajane had spied the _same _pink shape on his back, but she said nothing. Instead, when she saw the small cloud of smoke that signaled the disappearance of his clothing, she muttered, "Definitely like Requip."

* * *

><p><em>Glossary:<em>

_Rikudou Sennin – Sage of the Six Paths  
><em>_Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai – Special Assassination and Tactical Squad  
><em>_Shishou Fuuin – Four Symbols Seal_

* * *

><p><em>Beta-read by Lanky Nathan<em>

* * *

><p><em>Published: 404/2012_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>So I think I'll do those quotes at the start of every chapter (assuming I can up with enough). I'll try to relate them in some way to the chapter, too. The main reason I want to do them is because even if Naruto's real past isn't revealed, you guys will at least see some of his ideals and how he thinks nowadays. Alternatively, some of the other characters may say a few words.

By the way, if you're interested, you can read check up the previous chapter again – I fixed some errors (including some in formatting).

I didn't want to spoil it, but the pairing is Naruto x Mirajane, no harem. I realized I was being a hypocrite with not telling you, my dear readers, so I apologize.

I'll be honest; the up skirt scene was totally spur-of-the-moment. At first, I was against it because it felt so cliché but then I was like, "It's totally Naruto." 'Sides, I had to _somehow_ make more of ye olde Mira to shine through. I rather like how it turned out. By the way, if you're curious as to why Mirajane seems to know a lot and catches on quickly, it's because she does. She's a _smart_ character.

This chapter was super dialogue-heavy, sorry! It was necessary (maybe not…), but I'm sure it was still more lighthearted than the previous one! Hopefully we'll start with some action soon.

_**Picture**_ of the seal on Naruto's deltoid: bit . ly / I1t6WJ  
>Also on my profile.<p>

Also, if you're interested, I posted a Natsu x Mira oneshot called **Cry More**.


	3. Chapter 3

"Siegrain-sama, I have traced the augmentation of Eternano to a source."

"The rest of the Council has not yet attended to it, yes?"

The woman tersely nodded. "They are currently focused on more pressing matters."

"Ever since they've been documented, Eternano levels have always been on a continuous, albeit marginal, decline – aside from that curious incident nearly eight decades ago – so this is quite the interesting occurrence."

"As I was saying, the man is–"

Siegrain suddenly roared with laughter. "A man, you say? A _man _is capable of producing quite possibly one billion Edeas of magical energy?"

"Where is this individual?" he asked impetuously.

"Clover Town."

"Very well. _I _shall meet you there tomorrow. Do be sure to make it."

* * *

><p><strong>Arashi no Ko<strong>

_**Chapter III: Deference**_

"_Jiraiya had an ideal, a belief – that shinobi could look beyond hatred._

"_He had no means, no answers. All he left me was his will._

_"That was enough."  
><em>_-Rokudaime Hokage of Konoha_

* * *

><p>When the shinobi spun away from her, Mirajane had spied the <em>same <em>pink shape on his back, but she said nothing. Instead, when she saw the small cloud of smoke that signaled the disappearance of his clothing, she muttered, "Definitely like Requip."

* * *

><p>Naruto yawned. He was yawning <em>a lot <em>this morning. The girl he was walking beside stared curiously at him, wondering why he was so tired. "Don't tell me," a sly grin showed on her face, "that you were so nervous being with a girl that you couldn't sleep."

The male in question didn't budge; he was proud of his growing resistance to her flimsy implications. That wasn't to say that her insinuations were weak – no, quite the opposite: there were various forms to her innuendo. Currently, he was only able to resist her lowest level.

Naruto's mind picked at the reason for his exhaustion – his body felt much better since his arrival and he inferred that he could use some of his techniques by now, and, as far as he could tell, he had no physical fatigue. Regardless, he really just wanted to fall to the ground and _sleep_. He clasped his hands behind his neck and stretched, opening his mouth to release another loud exhale. "Sorry," he said with a groan, realizing that the mage was speaking, "what did you say?"

Mirajane glowered at him, shaking her head in displeasure. "I _said_," she stopped to make sure that he was listening, "that we're meeting Elfman and Lisanna to get lunch by the train station. I told her to collect the reward for the mission after she woke me up in the morning, so we're gonna meet up with them at the diner."

He covered his expanding mouth with a hand, letting out another wave of audible air. He rubbed his moistening eyes, stumbling through the road as he did. "Hey," Naruto heard her say, "are you really okay?"

He nodded his head a few times. "Yeah," he then grumbled, "but what is with the air around here? I just wanna sleep!"

Naruto and Mirajane arrived first at the quaint little diner, it was situated close enough to the station so that people would know when their train was in. They were welcomed in by a cheerful brunette waitress who took them to a small booth that could adequately seat two people per side.

Looking around, the shinobi saw that, of the few people inside, all of them were the business types. Most of them had leather black briefcases and papers strewn across their tables. He slid into the left side of the compartment, and was then quickly flanked by the mage. He figured they would have to squeeze Lisanna in their side so that Elfman could fit on the opposite bench.

The woman who seated them came again, but she was promptly dismissed until Mirajane's siblings came.

Naruto crossed his arms on the tabletop and dropped his head on them, turning his attention to the suddenly sighing mage. "I was wondering," she shyly said, mimicking his position and staring into his eyes, "how would you feel about joining Fairy Tail?"

"Your guild?" he asked with a raised brow. A contemplative thrum came from his throat as he scrutinized her discomfort. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go," he replied, grinning.

Mirajane smiled at that. "Then, as soon as we eat, you're coming straight to Magnolia Town with us!"

Her delight subsided once she noticed his serious mien. "I need to check out that place where I found myself," he bit his lip, "and I'll meet you right after that."

She frowned, asking, "Why can't we just come with you?"

"Because I can find it faster on my own," at her objecting look, he added, "and you have an obligation to your siblings before anyone else, they're probably still weak from yesterday."

Mirajane acquiesced with an unhappy frown and sighed. "From here, it takes about an hour to get to Kunugi Station, excluding the stop at Oshibana Town, and then another one to get to Magnolia from there."

Naruto laughed blithely. "I didn't realize it was _that _close. There's no to need to even consider hanging around."

"Mira-nee!" a feminine voice called. The approaching girl froze once she saw the blond beside her sister. "Y-you're the guy from yesterday!"

Naruto looked at the girl. She had a few shallow scratches littering her skin and was wearing a plain dark red dress that ended above her knees. Beside her was her sullen brother, wearing a navy pants and a high-collared shirt of the same color with gold buttons; he appeared to be mostly uninjured, aside from the small bandage over the right side of his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He offered them a smile as he sat up from his inclined position and, glancing at Elfman, winced. "Sorry about the face."

The giant bowed lowly to him, choking out, "I thank you for protecting my sisters and restraining me." He never rose to his length, and his shoulders began trembling.

Naruto stood and leaned over the table, extending his fist. "Oi," he called, "raise your head."

Elfman abided by the command and displayed his wet eyes. His eyes regarded Naruto's foreign gesture, but he was unsure of how to respond. Naruto realized and rattled his wrist.

The mage hesitantly brought his own fist to meet the extended one. "You must control _yourself_, not the beast, so accept who you are," the shinobi stated shrewdly, "and accept what you're capable of. Do that, and you'll never lose yourself again."

"Come on now," Naruto's tone was optimistic, "sit down and cheer up. You guys are still together, so everything's fine."

Elfman seated himself on the opposite site, but Naruto could see that he remained dismayed. Momentarily, the feeling of horror when he found out that he wounded Sakura with his own power resounded in his body; it reminded him that words meant nothing to someone who held himself accountable.

His eyes peeked at Mirajane, and he wondered,_ "Does she feel the same?"_ Right then, she shuffled closer to him as Lisanna was nudging onto to their side of the booth, and Naruto could feel the elder sister's prickling arm brush against his.

It wasn't cold in the building, and she hadn't been cold yesterday when they were in the forest. She was cold inside. "Naruto-san!" Roused by the summon, he turned to the younger girl, who was peering at him from over the table. Her face was concerned, and her eyes were innocently watching. She shifted nervously and asked, "Are you and my sister... t-together?"

"Lisanna!" Mirajane grimaced, "He just needed a–"

She was cut off by the returning waitress. "Are you ready to order?"

The elder sister glared at the interloper, who shrank away; but the three siblings ordered. It was finally Naruto's turn, but he hadn't been listening.

"Oh," he murmured, noting that the woman was eying him expectantly. "Ramen."

"We don't have that."

Naruto sighed, his head dipping a bit lower. "I'll have what she's having," he declared, indicating at the girl beside him. The woman quickly escaped once she wrote down their orders.

Once she left, another wave of drowsiness hit Naruto and he acted accordingly by yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Why is Naruto-san so tired," the short-haired girl probed suspiciously, "_Mira-nee_?"

* * *

><p>"Will you really join Fairy Tail, Naruto-san?" Lisanna asked, staring at him attentively.<p>

With lips curving upwards, he nodded. "I _told_ you that I would, and I always keep my word!"

The girl grinned at his statement, ran up to him, and gave him a tight hug. Her height barely reached his shoulders, so he patted her head with a laugh. "I'll be at Fairy Tail before you know it. Besides, from what you've guys told me, I'm sure it'll be fun." She released him and went back to the platform beside the waiting train.

Elfman, somewhat livelier since their lunch, spoke next, "You will be a manly addition to our guild." The giant offered his hand, and Naruto heartily shook it.

He stepped beside Lisanna, who quickly pulled him into the train with her. She peeked out from the side, eying both her sister and Naruto, before disappearing.

The shinobi's attention was on the remaining mage now. "Here," she said, handing him a small white envelope, "your cut of the mission."

She silenced his refusal with a glare, so he took it. Naruto could tell that Mirajane was uneasy, if her folded arms and hidden fidgeting were anything to go by. "I don't like goodbyes, so let's agree to meet up again." Smiling, he stretched out his clenched hand, the same way he had done for Elfman.

She reciprocated his smile, and her eyes even glimmered in appreciation. She reached out to Naruto's hand, brushing his knuckles against her own. The mage then turned around and slowly walked away.

"See ya soon, Mirajane," he called out to her retreating form.

Her progression stalled, and she sent him a fleeting look. "My friends call me Mira," she sounded back. As soon as she said those words, her pace restarted with sudden vitality, and she vanished into the train.

Naruto continued watching, even as the vehicle whistled loudly and started moving. He could have sworn that he saw Mira staring at him through one of the windows. The train was moving further and further away, and only once it vanished from his sight did he realize that his face was hot. Shaking his head, Naruto turned around, wondering why a kind girl hid herself behind such a strange persona.

He took a step forward, and the world around him darkened. The blue sky became pale, the cheerful people abruptly displayed their tire and stress, and the solitude he'd grown accustomed to returned. It was then that he remembered something.

Hailed as one of the strongest shinobi of his era, he was Uzumaki Naruto, former Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, the man who lived only to establish peace.

The city that he began seeing, the very streets he had once walked through were different. The people he saw now, they were less desolate than the ones from his memories. Toil was, he learned, a constant in every person, but despite all of that, the smiles of the individuals here were untainted by wars, fear, or hatred.

It made him realize something: even if there were a way to do so, he didn't want to go home. He didn't want to see the faces that hid their pain. The war they won did not incite even a single step in the direction of Jiraiya's peace. It just made it all worse. In the end, nothing was gained; there were only losses.

This time wasn't one without belligerency. It was much simpler than that.

This was a time without the Bijuu – a time where struggle for power was not reliant on nine beings that could be forced to relentlessly destroy everything.

With a conflicted heart, the Rokudaime moved on, toward the forest that had hidden him for centuries. Now, the answers he sought only bore factual value.

But, no matter what... home was still home. _It will always be._

* * *

><p>The leaves and the trees were all a moving blur as he sped through the forest, searching for the trail of ruin. The only sound that reached his ears was that of the streaming wind.<p>

His speed lessened as splintered trees were unveiled by the woodland. Then he saw the two thick logs that the beast had been swatting. _This_ was the place.

Had it been possible to do so, the shinobi would have already found the remnants of any chakra, but the diffused energy he had noticed once he awakened in this time dulled his unexceptional sensory skills; he just couldn't find the chakra that indubitably existed. This was probably the Eternano that Mira had mentioned. He curiously wondered how it would look from a Byakugan's perspective.

His eyes met a spot with a piece of shabby dark material – that was likely the detached arm of his jacket. He strolled to the cloth with low expectation and nudged it with his foot. There was nothing here. With such a close proximity to the site, even Eternano couldn't dull all traces. _If _it could, there would be at least some sort of evident indication.

Naruto shut his eyes, deciding to reach out to nature.

What he found was irritating. This airborne disease was even obstructing his connection to natural energy. The life around him definitely had it, but the problem was linking to it. It was difficult to pull the natural energy through the present Eternano. His body lowered itself down to sit, and his legs crossed over.

He breathed slowly and listened to the rustling leaves and the crying birds. He cleared his mind of the traitorous thoughts that compelled him to just leave this repulsive forest and run to the place called Fairy Tail, where he heard that people simply didn't _care_. He could freely indulge in ignorance and forget everything that was wrong...

_I am Jiraiya's pupil; I have inherited his will. For the sake of everyone who fought, I won't be selfish. I can't renounce my duty. If my answer wasn't good enough... then I'll find a new one! If... if there's such a thing as peace, I will find it! I won't give up!_

His pull strengthened; the world in his heart was suddenly brighter, and his emptiness was just a bit less empty.

The tendrils of nature weakly responded and gradually traveled to him. He wasn't used to having to guide natural energy yet, but he would surely be able to eventually. Back home, all he had to do was concentrate and tug hard enough, and it would answer his call and enter him.

In just a moment of distraction, the advancing natural energy jerked far away. Naruto glared up at the individual who caused the sound of crunching twigs.

He was clothed in a strange black and white outfit; it was skin-tight and had a series of three holes on the sides of his hips and shoulders. His tousled, moderately-long hair was a flawless blue, and his light face had an eerie reddish marking that went vertically across his right eye.

The teen, who Naruto assumed was close to his age, had a dark smile behind his welcoming face. He kept walking forward, stopping just before the watchful shinobi.

He extended his hand down to Naruto, who cautiously accepted it and rose to his feet, stepping away.

"My name is Jellal," the newcomer paused as an unpleasant grin spread over his branded face, "and I wish to build a world of true freedom." Fingers spread, Jellal's hands rose to his sides. His dark brown eyes were wide and gleeful. "I would like you to join me!"

"Look," Naruto muttered, "I don't want any part in your little plans. I make it something of a habit to oppose madmen and their world domination schemes instead."

His fingers curled into fists, and he tipped his head to the side, proclaiming, "The Eternano hidden within your body is capable of advancing my plans, so I suppose I will force you to come with me."

"Are you not listening to me?" Naruto droned while his thoughts raced. This guy was probably after the fox's chakra – he must have detected it when it was used in the fight against Elfman, but was it that similar to Eternano?

"However, before I take you, you shall be tested. The numbers that were transcribed are unbelievable," Jellal paused, his body began emitting a yellow light. "Forgive my lack of fidelity, but you are just one man."

Naruto realized that the weight that crushed his shoulders was slightly mitigated. _"Was it really that simple?" _he asked himself. "_Was it all just because I lost my faith?"_ He inhaled as much of the unexpectedly sweet air as his lungs permitted. Naruto's lips twitched into a smile. "I'm feeling pretty good," he said, "I hope you'll give me a grade once your little test is done. That is, if you're still conscious by the end."

**I missed this.**

His foe cackled loudly and flew at Naruto with his enhanced speed.

_It doesn't matter where or when, but the nature of humans will always remain the same. _

A fist was aimed at Naruto's cheek, but he parried it with a quick swipe of the hand, brushing off the residual stinging in his palm.

_We'll always looks for ways to ease our pain or to erase that which caused it, and there will always be those of us who bring about strife._

Naruto leaned back and twisted, sending a side kick at Jellal's neck, but he disappeared before it contacted.

_All that happened back home... I couldn't deal with it – I couldn't get rid of the misery._

Naruto heard a crazed laugh from behind him and twirled around, reclining his head to avoid a kick that left a current of nose-tickling air. Jellal's hard punch followed to his chest and Naruto's head surged forward from the force but was then diverted to the side by a hook to his jaw.

He fell to the side, halting his descent by a firm hand on the crunching ground. Springing backwards, Naruto landed a glancing blow to the mage's chin.

_Sasuke's pain, Nagato's pain – I didn't have to imagine it anymore, because I experienced all of it first-hand. _

"You're pretty fast," Naruto commented, wiping away the blood rolling from his lip. Glancing down at his chest, he found that his armor was cracked. "You hit hard, too. I guess I can't just play around with you." A dim blue light radiated from Naruto when a surge of chakra flooded through him.

_I lost who I was; I didn't see a way that I could continue on._

Jellal sneered, "I'll make sure you don't get up next time." He took off once more, his body burning even brighter. He was before Naruto in an instant, flinging a strike at his shoulder.

Naruto shifted his hips and twisted before the attack landed. Jellal vanished and manifested mid-flight on the other side, sending a high kick at the back of Naruto's head. He quickly dropped down to avoid it, only to see his shadow darken once the glowing mage loomed above him with a powerful chop aimed at his neck.

Rolling out of the way, Naruto grabbed the wrist of the mage's slashing arm and jerked it down. He followed up by propelling his legs up and smashing a hard uppercut into the side of the mage's face with his other hand. Despite the ear-splitting crack, Jellal broke out of the hold and caught both of Naruto's arms in his hands and swiveled his airborne body, crushing a knee below Naruto's ear.

_Much was sacrificed because of me... my response was natural..._

Naruto lurched ahead, but Jellal didn't drop to the ground. He was already driving a spinning kick that was intended for breaking jaws. Naruto responded by falling forward, barely avoiding the attack, and caught the mage's other, curled leg in his hands.

Naruto launched his body up with a hard push from one leg and, displaying his impressive flexibility as he arced his back, stomped mage's face with the other.

__But I won't let it hold me back any more. They trusted in me.__

As Jellal careened backwards, Naruto hammered his gut with a fist, causing him to gasp loudly, drops of saliva spewing from his mouth. Once they hit the ground, Jellal's head bashed against a tree and cracked the wood, courtesy of the still-active Meteor.

_So... I'll move forward..._

Naruto rose, pulling himself off of Jellal, and shuffled away, his hand caressing his sore neck.

_To convince myself... that I'm... that I'm still the one they all believed in!_

"That hurt," the mage snarled, sitting up and rubbing his bleeding nose, "that fucking _hurt_!"

Jellal rocketed to his feet, wooden shrapnel falling about him. "**Bind Snake**!"

Naruto cried out once the spell was activated. Red marks emerged on his uncovered skin, following after a head; they traveled across his body, loosening his muscles and constricting his movement. His limbs were resisting his orders; it was difficult to breath. Naruto's knees were bent, his legs were barely sustaining him, his arms were monotonously swinging at his sides, and his head was dipped.

A sinister smile was on Jellal's face. "You accepted it, don't you remember? I offered you my hand and you took it." Jellal cocked his fist back, his middle and pointer fingers unbent, and stretched it to its full length behind him.

From the mage came a flaring blast, roughly the same height as its caster. Panting, Naruto raised his eyes to examine the incoming sphere. Fighting his contravening body, he thrust forth an open palm to collide with the ground-tearing projectile. He gathered chakra in his hand: spinning, adding power, and rotating.

Jellal's attack halted immediately when met the immeasurably smaller ball of blue in Naruto's trembling hand. Briefly fighting for dominance, the hastily-formed Rasengan prevailed, contorting the raw Heavenly Magic into a misshapen whorl. The unstable emulation, incapable of matching the shinobi's technique, started spreading from the back and then ruptured in quick succession, raising dirt and leaving a parabolic imprint on the earth.

The Rasengan in Naruto's palm whisked away as his ribs were squeezed by the creeping serpent. He labored to flood his depleted lungs with air, but the slithering encumbrance was obstructing his craving. His neck and head pulsed; it felt like his head would pop off – but his brain _worked_.

If this were anything like a _real _snake, the constriction over his chest would have been blocking off his veins and inducing a heart attack. What he was feeling now, it was merely the tension of his own muscles pressuring him. His heavy breathing must have accounted for most of his muscle usage once the spell was activated, drawing the brunt of the compression to his chest.

This was similar to the Jubaku Mandara, but, this time, it was not his power against that Fuma clan mutant's – it was his own against his own. The amount put in trying to break free would be the same amount that returned to press him.

There had to be limits – limits that Naruto wanted to expose: perhaps there was a time limit that depended upon the amount of energy placed into the snake, or it could possibly lose out against his muscles in a battle of attrition if the conversion from his resistance to its exertion was unequal.

Could all of the stress be redirected to, say, an arm if he managed to strain it enough? There was also the chance that the snake fed off of the additional heat that was produced when he struggled.

Each of those options was viable because this spell was never meant to be offensive. Eventually, it would be unable to sustain itself if he fell unconscious, so it was _not _life-threatening.

Cursing, Naruto dropped back, thumping against the earth: he had to be at rest to reclaim his body. From his recumbent position, he saw Jellal above him, grinning wildly.

It was meant to buy time, after all.

The choking force left him; Naruto purposed to get the hell out of the way. Jellal, however, spotted his attempt. The mage's brows wrinkled in a mixture of disgust and anger. "Ultear," he snarled, "hold him down!"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he swore again – he didn't even suspect the possibility of a second attacker; just because he couldn't feel anyone didn't mean that no one was there.

That was an error befitting of that hyperactive brat who got tied to a stump, not a Hokage.

The ground beneath him began crumbling. He started to sink into the dirt, but it wouldn't exactly hinder him... this wasn't something that he couldn't escape, but there was the chance that this insane fool had given up on "capturing" him.

Besides, _if_ he were to subdue Jellal, then what? Who was this guy? He _appeared _to be a tyrannical psycho, but appearances had really been sucking lately. If he were some influential member of some upper ranks, then Naruto could have it all turned against him.

Becoming a criminal in this country was not the way he wanted to start out.

_Looks like I'm not gonna get a grade._

To Naruto's surprise, suddenly sprouting vines wrapped around his arms and legs, preventing movement. They thickened at an absurd pace, growing darker and harder.

He brought his focus back to Jellal, eying him as he crossed his hands and raised them above his head. A sharp, whistling gust that unsettled branches erupted around the man. At the tips of his fingers was an expanding black vortex – it was drawing the shadows of the very forest toward it, the dark threads of which spun into the growing orb.

Naruto could tell that whatever that attack was, it was extremely powerful. It was dense: it was like a number of Rasengan crushed together. He didn't know what this attack was capable of, but he wouldn't find out.

Wind streamed to his tangled limbs; the currents flowed out and gyrated around the small stumps that shackled him. They ate nearly half of the wood until randomly _disappearing_.

"**Altairis**!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw blitzing sphere. It wasn't close to him, but he could feel how sheer gravity deterred his movements. This thing was a death blow. He couldn't allow Kurama to surface this late – Jellal obviously decided that he wasn't worth keeping alive.

His winds were somehow consumed – he wouldn't allow that a second time. Gritting his teeth, he sent his elemental affinity through every single one of his tenketsu.

A gale stormed around him, eviscerating both lumber and rock.

Naruto watched the round night sky beset him.

_"Kaze no Yoroi."_

* * *

><p>"<em>This<em> was what I came for, Ultear?" Jellal inquired heatedly, inspecting the destroyed grounds. Hewn trees, severed branches, and shredded leaves all lay drawn to the depressed, round basin. A sparse layer of dust was carelessly hovering in the whole vicinity. "I'll overlook this blunder. Any more, and I _will _absolve you of your service."

He turned away from her. Haughtily, he said, "I expect you to be in Era by the morning."

Ultear bit the inside of her cheek, her eyebrows furrowing. An arrogant fool – just the way she wanted it. Her possession was still working perfectly.

Her eyes trailed to the crater: to the dent within it. Perhaps she exaggerated. The boy used wind magic, so it was potentially possible that he could manipulate the Eternano to compress and somehow affect her information; but such control was almost unheard of, especially with that branch of elemental make.

While it was a shame that he had died, she fulfilled her objective thanks to him.

Jellal was – and forever would be – her pawn.

* * *

><p><strong>Oshibana Station<strong>

"Mira-nee! There was just a Lacrima-Vision broadcast from Clover!"

Mirajane raised her eyes curiously and was about to speak, but she was cut off by her sister's cry, "They say something hit deep in the forest: some think it's a meteor, but no one saw it fall!"

"Hey – isn't that where..." Elfman uttered, nervously glancing at his shocked elder sister.

"T-the forest...?" she whispered. "It hasn't even been an hour – I'm sure he's okay; he probably didn't even get that far in yet."

"Elf-nii and I are fine now; we can get home on our own," Lisanna said with a strained smile, "so you should go help Naruto-san find what he's looking for."

Mirajane nodded idly and took off in a search for a returning train.

"We'll wait for you and Naruto-san at Fairy Tail!"

* * *

><p>Mirajane growled; it was taking too long. She wasn't fast enough without her Take Over.<p>

A partially translucent, purple vein stretched from the right side of her forehead, over her eye, and down to her jaw line. Besides being covered by a dull green tinge, the skin on her forearms also solidified; and her formerly flowing white hair lost some of its pliancy.

Her speed increased significantly; the very grass beneath her feet was razed as she approached the forest.

* * *

><p>There were no traces of Naruto anywhere. She told herself that he wasn't involved with whatever that 'meteor' was, but deep down, she knew.<p>

It definitely wasn't a coincidence.

Mirajane froze. She finally found the site...it was chaotic. There was a massive bowl in the terrain; the upper rim was above the original level of ground.

Reluctantly, she stepped into the perfect circle. In the center – and she trembled when she saw it – was a further indentation. It was big enough to fit a man.

She went the whole distance, to the very ditch. It about two feet deep; inside was a mixture of soil and cobblestones. Dirty fingernails and fingers jutted from the middle of the various trashes. Mirajane never noticed her loud gasp or labored breathing.

She slumped down to ground, her bare stomach flat on the curving earth. Her shaking hands reached down to grip the subdued man's fingers.

They were warm.

Her eyes widened and an almost-laugh rose from her throat. Her fierce features regressed, and she carefully slid down the hole and cautiously began to extract the arms. They came easily enough and she tugged harder. Shoulders; and blonde locks, engorged with filth; and a nose; and a head; and a chest; and he was _warm_ and _alive_.

She snickered as she seated herself on the moist dirt above where his lap or legs would've been. One arm was around his back, holding up his torso. The other worked to wipe away the grime over his eyes and face.

"_You're doing weird things to me..._" Naruto mumbled, revealing his blue irises. Quickly, he cocked his head to side and _spat_, trying to get rid of whatever got crammed into his mouth.

He looked around him, scoping the earthly walls. His attention returned to the girl inches in front of him.

She was crying.

"I thought you were dead," she whispered as her second arm circled his back. She then hid her face in his neck.

Naruto figured that the filth didn't matter at this point. He leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His free hand stroked the back of her head in an effort to appease her. "Please," he breathed, "it takes more than that to kill me."

"Are you okay?" she asked, breaking free and staring into his similar blue eyes.

"Second time you've asked me that today. Same answer now." His hand came up, and his unclean thumb – almost – stretched to erase her tears. She didn't care and leaned into his palm anyway, ignorantly smudging her pale skin. "Don't cry," he murmured.

Her tears ceasing, Mirajane stood shakily, bidding Naruto to take her hands. He obliged and with a combined effort, they managed to unearth the rest of him.

Combined effort corresponded with additional momentum.

Naruto whisked into her, jostling her against the short wall, which only served to trip her – it didn't even reach up to the hem of her skirt. Tumbling back, they landed with a merged groan.

Before either of them could comprehend anything – namely, his knee between her legs, her palms against his chest, his hands on either side of her head, and their lips uncomfortably close – Naruto rolled to the side, dropping beside Mirajane.

Turning her head to him, she laughed. "I can't be _that_ frightening."

He glanced at her, sheepishly grinning. "It's not you, it's me."

"Y-you're breaking up with me?"

His reaction was mute.

* * *

><p>A soft whirlwind whirred around them, brushing away specks of grime. It began revolving faster and tore away more. Blonde and white hair stirred within the small tornado; clothes gently rippled under the current; and shrapnel from an armored chest flaked onto the ground.<p>

Just as swiftly as they came, the winds dispersed. All that was left was the two much-cleaner people who stood in the midst of the disturbance.

Naruto eyed his attire. His orange pants were ragged shorts. _Again_. His customized breastplate? Not so much a plate anymore. The tough, black lining – on both sides – was only specked with seamed orange shards. "Gear," he whined, "ruined again!"

He turned to the girl beside him and instantly stepped away in a frenzy of shock. Her luscious tresses, harassed by his impromptu storm, hardly concealed an almost-twitching eye.

* * *

><p>"So, 'Demon' Mirajane, huh?" he asked rhetorically. "I sort of see why."<p>

She huffed. "They were shutting down the trains because of _fog_? Fog! There are tracks for a reason!"

"They called it a hurricane..."

"Yeah, a random _hurricane_? Bullshit!"

Sighing, Naruto rubbed his eyes. "Okay, okay, but did you have to go that far? I'm sure that guy has a family."

"Then he won't need more kids."

In the mist, they trod alongside the moist tracks. Mira managed to convince – force – the train's engineer to take to them and the other empty cars to Magnolia. When he didn't take them the whole way to the predetermined destination, the guy took a hit to the jewels – not the ones in his wallet. It was both horrifying and morbidly fascinating to Naruto, who tried his best not to wince every time he looked at the girl.

As they neared the town, the haze thickened and it was getting extremely hard to see ahead. Naruto didn't voice his concerns, but he was wary of the air. It didn't feel strange.

That in itself was the problem.

"And we're here!" Mirajane chimed, stepping into an exceptionally dense wall of white. Naruto wordlessly followed her, silently questioning how she could tell.

Circular droplets of water mounted into the sky, up into dark clouds that swirled around a point. The scene in front of them was not Magnolia.

It was nothing. Jagged mountains were visible on the far sides, but the whole ground was covered in a white chalky sand. There was no one here; there was _nothing _here.

"Wh-what happened...? T-this isn't..." Eyes wide, she was hectically scrutinizing the land.

His words came out in a whisper: "The Eternano's all gone."

* * *

><p><em>Glossary:<em>

_Jubaku Mandara – Curse Mandala__  
><em>_Kaze no Yoroi – Wind Armor_

* * *

><p><em>Beta-read by Lanky Nathan<em>

* * *

><p><em>Published: 501/2012_

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Yokoso. I've been wanting to say that. I hope you read through this whole thing..

Enter the first arc.

Do remember that this is two years before canon. There's no Gajeel, no Wendy. I had a reviewer comment about me killing off Erza Knightwalker in the last chapter – that's not the case. Assuming her age is the same as Earthland Erza, then I feel she would have been too young to be a captain. The death of the previous one was to set up Knightwalker's position.

I really meant to get this out like three weeks ago, but life has gotten more troublesome: I'll be starting college in fall, you see. That's gonna suck and will probably stunt my writing (assuming I manage to continue writing; hopefully I will). Next... Guild Wars 2! I'll probably be getting it soon and...urhh... hopefully I don't like it too much so I can limit my playing.

The most important factor in all of this is my creativity. I have the general direction of the story mapped out until the current arc. My creativity was probably sapped by a few issues dealing with this arc and some annoying points that will hopefully be revealed before I reach them. Plus, I've never watched more than like ten episodes of Fairy Tail and I started reading in the 220's, so I have to go back and read the chapters to make this arc. Reviews can probably help me, guys, so... as you will.

Huge thank you to FoxboroSalts. He helped me out quite a bit with my fight scene, and our conversing is/was pretty fun. I seriously suggest you check out his Naruto x Fairy Tail crossover – it's top tier. Review him, too. Then he'll write more and release more chapters, and we'll all be happy.

_Distance between Clover Town and Hargeon:_ I believe it's about three hours. You can read the rest of this to see why, but if you're not interested in my thinking and planning, then... yeah. These are parts copied from my convo with Foxboro – _I'd say Fiore is definitely no bigger than Spain. __It looks like the distance from Valencia to Lerida is about the same as Hargeon to Clover. The distance is probably about 300km(~190miles) without any curving around. If the train's going at 100km/h(~60mph), then it only takes three hours without stops._

* * *

><p><em>Deleted Scene:<em>

"Are you ready to order?"

The elder sister glared at the interloper, who shrank away, but the three siblings ordered. It was finally Naruto's turn, but he hadn't been listening.

"Sake," he stated and released a self-deafening yawn.

The siblings looked at him curiously, and the elder inquired, "You drink?"

"It depends on the situation. The way I see it, two things can happen, both of which are acceptable. Either I finally wake up or I end up getting knocked out." Naruto then noticed the woman still waiting. "And ramen," he added.

"We don't have that."

He looked at her dully. "Screw staying awake," he grumbled, "another sake."

"We don't have that."

"Then how am I gonna get the first one!" he exclaimed, exasperated.

"I told you that we didn't have it the first time," she shot back darkly.

Naruto sighed and just shook his head. "I'll have what she's having," he declared, indicating at the girl beside him. The woman quickly escaped once she wrote down their orders.

"Why is Naruto-san so tired," the short-haired girl probed suspiciously, "_Mira-nee_?"


End file.
